Thursday, August 03, 2017 1:00 am

Letters

Nisly an inspiration

Republicans are often considered to be anti-woman. But as a young woman in a Republican state who is a Republican herself, I am here to say that this could not be less true. I have had great and empowering interactions with so many Republicans across the state, and none more so than Rep. Curt Nisly.

Nisly has always been a legislator who is uniquely open and approachable, and because of that we have been able to form a valuable mentoring relationship.

From taking time to explain legislation to me, to just chatting and giving life advice, he is always there.

Nisly is just about as conservative as they come, but I have never once felt put down by him or less than a total equal despite our difference in age and position. Even though I am not a constituent of his, he makes time to help prepare me for future life, which will someday be his legacy.

In a group setting, it's said that women are 75 percent less likely to speak up than men are. That used to be me, but because of the time Rep. Nisly has taken with me, it isn't anymore. This is the man who truly gave me my voice and encouraged me to keep sharing it with the country.

Megan Stoner

Elwood

Start over again to elect government we deserve

In the business world, when a major problem is identified, a white paper analysis is required to identify and address the issue. Most companies would ask for three items: identify the issue, identify the root cause (very difficult) and identify how to eliminate the problem. In my view, before the Affordable Care Act is addressed, we need to address the root cause of the problems with ACA. But what appears to be the case is we are addressing the result, making cuts from ACA programs to address issues produced by the root cause.

The root cause is that America pays the most for health care vs. the quality of care we receive. This is low-hanging fruit that needs to be addressed first. Can we achieve the same results as the best health care programs in other countries? No. And I am not sure we would like care under the rules of the best nation. The second root cause is a very high percentage of fraud in our Medicare/Medicaid/medical and insurance programs.

The solution is very difficult. We elected wolves to protect our henhouse, and we feed them very well. Since 1998, $6.5 billion has been contributed from various medical/insurance firms and lobbyists to both parties. Some of the low-hanging fruit would be to allow Medicare and Medicaid to negotiate lower medicine pricing. Secondly, reduce fraud in Medicaid and Medicare by making the punishment not worth the crime. Third, slow down/monitor contributions from outside sources to campaigns. An idea could be that when politicians reach a certain level of contribution from outside sources, they can no longer vote on any issues they received these campaign funds from (I know this will never happen).

The only other solution available, in my view, would be to vote the current folks out of office and start again. And to do this would mean to vote for the best person, whether they be male, female, Democrat, Republican or independent. Limit their time in office to three terms. Our parties are not working together to resolve important issues. Our current government is not what our forefathers envisioned; we need to get back to what they intended. As Abraham Lincoln stated: “A government of the people, by the people.” I don't think he was misquoted and meant to say: “A government of the people, by the government.”

Dennis Keith Owen

Fort Wayne

JEERS to all the drivers at the corner of Carroll Road and Bethel Road who think their time is more important than waiting for a green light. During all this construction, it is more important than ever to obey our traffic laws.